{"id":34105,"date":"2018-07-16T14:50:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T11:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=34105"},"modified":"2022-02-13T13:11:23","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T11:11:23","slug":"milimilim-the-hebrew-corner-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/milimilim-the-hebrew-corner-4\/","title":{"rendered":"MiliMiliM The Hebrew Corner Gen 4"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5-\u05d4 – YHVH – The Name of God<\/span><\/p>\n

What’s in a name? Here’s a better Jewish question: what’s in THE Name? I’m referring of course to the name of God, \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5-\u05d4, YHVH, which appears alone for the first time here in chapter 4, interestingly, in the first baby-naming. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This name is one of the most well-known and mysterious Hebrew words, if only for the reason that it is forbidden to even say it. Indeed, no one is sure even <\/span>how<\/span><\/em> to pronounce it, and so it is never said. Ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why couldn’t it be pronounced? According to the sources, the special Name was uttered only once a year \u2013 by the holiest person (the high priest), in the holiest place (where else? The Holy of Holies), on the holiest day, Yom Kippur, the day of purification and atonement. So apparently it <\/span>was<\/span><\/em> pronounceable. (Indeed, given that language is oral before it is written, it is hard to imagine \u2013 even in a very bibliocentric culture like Judaism \u2013 a word coming into being that exists only in its written form, with no associated pronunciation). The assumption, though, is that the correct pronunciation of the name became proprietary knowledge of the priesthood, and became a secret untold, lost in destruction and upheaval.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond its pronunciation, its derivation is also mysterious. While it is not actually a word, the four letters are taken from instances of the verb “to be.” The words for “he was” “he is” and “he will be” are \u05d4\u05d9\u05d4, \u05d4\u05d5\u05d4, \u05d9\u05d4\u05d9\u05d4, <\/span>haya, hoveh, yihyeh<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> thus making the Name a sort of permutation of these forms together, implying eternity, and the oft-used translation, the Eternal.<\/span><\/p>\n

This leads to one last observation on the letters of the Name. The three letters (the \u05d4 <\/span>hey<\/em> <\/span>is used twice) are actually special letters in Hebrew. In fact, the first-century Jewish historian and philosopher Josephus said that this Name consists of “four vowels” (The Jewish War V, 5:235). Wait \u2013 vowels? In English the letter “y” can be both a consonant and a vowel. In Hebrew, the same is true of \u05d9, <\/span>yod<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> but also of the \u05d4, <\/span>heh<\/span><\/em>, and the \u05d5, <\/span>vav<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i> If you know basic Hebrew reading, you know that the \u05d5, <\/span>vav<\/span><\/em>, represents an “o” or “oo” sound, \u05d9, <\/span>yod<\/span><\/em> is “ee,” and the \u05d4, <\/span>hey<\/span><\/em>, can appear as a “silent” letter at the end of words, strengthening the preceding vowel. Rabbi Arthur Waskow and others point out that using these vocalic consonants to indicate divinity, is essentially equating God’s name with breath, and with the very act of breathing, the basis of life, which brings us back to the mystery of existence.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":101722,"id":101722,"title":"-620244a42cc18--620244a42cc19gen4-milim yhvh.jpg","filename":"620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/milimilim-the-hebrew-corner-4\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh-jpg\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh-jpg","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":34105,"date":"2022-02-08 10:23:32","modified":"2022-02-08 10:26:07","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620244a42cc18-620244a42cc19gen4-milim-yhvh.jpg-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"MiliMiliM - 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